COP-11 to be held at three venues

Arrangements for The prestigious COP-11 (Conference of Parties) on CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity), scheduled to be held here from October 1 to 19, will be held at three venues at Madhapur.

While the main conference will be at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), exhibition and cultural programmes will be at HITEX and Shilparamam.

Speaking on behalf of forest minister S.Vijayarama Raju on the arrangements being made for the conference at a weekly programme, Prajahitam, at the secretariat on Thursday, AP State Bio-diversity Board chairman R.Hampaiah said it was creditable that India bagged the opportunity to host the prestigious event which would be attended by 8,000 delegates from 193 countries. And it is a matter of prestige that the Indian government and COP chose A P to host the event, he said.

The state government has already constituted 12 committees to monitor the arrangements in transport, security, accommodation, etc. Information on the availability of accommodation ie on the website and the delegates will book accommodation to suit their need. Some might book five star hotels while others service apartments. ‘’In fact, the United Nations is providing $ 200 per day as Dearness Supply Pay (DSP),’’ he said.

The conference will be held in two parts with a two-day break. The first part, which is expected to be attended by representatives from 62 countries, will be on biotechnology and bio-safety protocol. Its focus  will be on genetically-modified organisms and their impact. The actual conference on bio-diversity will commence after the two-day break.

The conference will serve as a good platform to discuss smuggling in red sanders and other species of fauna and flora. Red sanders, for example, is being used in atomic energy experiments, in preparing aphrodisiac like Viagra, fetching crores of rupees in revenue while the regions where it grows are left to suffer losses. The conference is expected to come out with a ‘Hyderabad Protocol’ on the lines of  Kyoto Protocol to be implemented across the world.